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A Honolulu Police Department sergeant helped facilitate the peaceful surrender of her 19-year-old son after he allegedly shot and killed an 18-year-old man during the botched robbery of a rival on Round Top Drive on Friday.
Honolulu police put out
a Crime Stoppers news release at 3:15 p.m. Friday saying that Nainoa M.K. Damon was “armed and dangerous.” Once his mother and stepfather, an HPD corporal, learned that Damon was wanted in connection with the killing, she reached out to him, according to sources, and urged him to give himself up.
Damon’s mom and stepfather have not spoken with detectives investigating Friday’s murder. They did not reply to a Honolulu Star-
Advertiser request for an interview. Damon’s biological dad worked with investigators to help bring his son in without incident.
The city Department of the Medical Examiner did not release the name of the 18-year-old victim on Saturday.
Damon was booked at 2:10 p.m. Saturday on suspicion of murder in the second degree, after he walked into the Wahiawa police station with Honolulu defense attorney R. Patrick McPherson.
Damon’s mom, the HPD sergeant, is currently assigned to the Wahiawa station. A former Mrs. Hawaii America, she was awarded HPD’s Bronze Medal Of Valor in 2017 after she stopped a drunk, distraught man from jumping off a bridge.
She “disregarded her own safety and took control of a suicidal male, under the influence of alcohol, and saved a human life,” according to her award citation.
McPherson was told where Damon was and that he was ready to surrender, picked him up and drove him to the Wahiawa police station, according to sources. McPherson declined a Star-Advertiser
request for comment.
Police have not recovered the murder weapon and are still looking for Damon’s alleged accomplice, the getaway vehicle and other evidence.
Interim Honolulu police Chief Rade Vanic did not reply to Star-Advertiser requests for an interview. He did not respond to questions about what, if any, HPD policies outline how officers should handle family members who are wanted in connection with a crime.
At about 2 a.m. Friday, Damon and another, unidentified man allegedly drove up to a group of men at one of the scenic lookouts at Round Top Drive, according to an HPD news release.
Damon walked up to an 18-year-old man, whom police describe as a longtime rival, pointed a gun to his head and demanded his property. The man’s friend, also 18, drew his gun and pointed it at Damon.
Damon shot the man who pointed the gun at him in the abdomen. The man was taken to a hospital by
a person at the scene in a private car, where he was pronounced dead.
A second suspect in the shooting is described as a male, approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and was wearing a black ski mask and all black clothing at the time of the attempted robbery.
Police are still looking for him in connection with the ongoing murder investigation. Damon and the man wanted for questioning fled the Tantalus area in a white 1998 Toyota Camry toward Nehoa Street. The vehicle reportedly has a “Bad Boy” sticker on the driver’s side windshield.
According to the Hawaii Judiciary Information Management System, Damon has 16 prior citations and arrests for traffic violations since October 2020.
On Jan. 13, 2021, Damon was arrested for reckless driving and racing, and cited for speeding in excess of 81 miles per hour. The charges were eventually dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors could not refile them. On Mar. 2, 2021, he was cited for driving without a valid license and not having car insurance. Both citations were dismissed with prejudice.
On Oct. 13, he was stopped for exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour and driving more than 81 miles per hour. Both citations were also dismissed with prejudice.
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